Made in (The People's Republic of) China: February 2009 Archives

By Sujay Mehdudia | The Hindu (India)
February 08, 2009

Brushing aside the threat by China of dragging India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath on Friday plugged the loopholes in the rules that could allow manufacturers in China to dispatch toys into the market through a third country.

Officials said here that the Ministry has informed and alerted the customs authorities to ensure that Chinese toys do not enter the Indian ports through a third country route.

"Prohibition shall be applicable on all such toys which have originated from China, irrespective of the country of import. Originated shall mean 'manufactured' in China," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a directive to all Commissioners of Customs and licensing authorities.

Mr. Nath said the ban on Chinese toys was on grounds of public health and safety and the action was compliant with the WTO rules. "India is a responsible country and before we take any action we make sure that it should be WTO compatible," Mr. Nath told journalists here. However, he said the move would not sour India's commercial ties with China because the ban was a matter of public rather than commercial concern.

After India slapped the ban on import of toys from China on January 23, Chinese official media reported that Beijing was contemplating a WTO action against New Delhi.

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By Edward Wong | THE NEW YORK TIMES
February 03, 2009

A human rights advocate who tried to help grieving parents push for an official investigation into a school that collapsed during May's earthquake in Sichuan Province has been charged with illegal possession of state secrets, a legal step Chinese officials take when they intend to punish a dissident.

The advocate, Huang Qi, runs an informal organization called the Tianwang Human Rights Center in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, in southwest China.

Mr. Huang's wife, Zeng Li, said she was told Monday morning of the charge against her husband and that a closed-door trial would be held on Tuesday. She later said that a judge called her at 6 p.m. to say the trial had been postponed indefinitely, possibly because several foreign news organizations had run articles about the charge on their Web sites.

People charged with "illegal possession of state secrets" have little hope of defending themselves in the court system, which operates under Communist Party control. The official definition of secrets is broad and flexible, and can be applied to widely available government documents or even reports published by state-run media. The exact secret involved is rarely revealed.

The charge is used often enough to punish people who have challenged the authorities that some human rights advocates consider allegations of illegally possessing or revealing state secrets the equivalent of a political offense under Mao.

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